Faith, Hope, and Love
by Reader458
Summary: Summary: Isn't it strange that humans, surrounded by death and destruction, often embrace the most life-giving of rituals? F/F Mari/Mirai WARNING SPOILERS FOR LAST EP


Mari looked calm and collected as Seiji and Masami let her inside and down the hall. On the inside however, her feelings were raging.

There was fear. Fear that Mirai was not taking it well at all. The silent look that had passed between the two older Onasawas when she had asked how Mirai was had not gone unnoticed, and Masami's quiet proposal that she come in and meet Mirai did nothing to alleviate that worry.

There was sorrow. Sorrow that such a lovely boy had died, a boy she had become strongly attached to in the little time she had known him. Sorrow for the girl she was there to visit, a girl she suspected dealt as badly with the loss of her brother as Mari had dealt with the loss of her husband.

There was guilt. Guilt that she had not seen any signs of Yuuki's condition (no matter that there hadn't been any signs). Guilt that she had not held her promise of staying with them. Guilt that she hadn't held up her husband's example of sticking with those she had dragged with her. Guilt that her family had survived the catastrophe while Mirai had lost her brother. Guilt that she had not been able to visit earlier. Guilt that she had let the reunion with her family make her leave an emotionally crushed girl alone. Guilt that she had not chased after her sooner. Guilt that she had not been able to see how deep the girl's suffering was before it was too late.

For weeks the guilt had eaten her, until she now was unable to enjoy her family's survival. Oh, Hina had still made her smile and laugh, but almost immediately her thoughts had turned to Mirai, and that would bring her mood down again. The last few days not even Hina had been able to make the hole in her soul go away.

Then she rounded the corner and saw the object of most of her feelings.

"Mirai-chan."

Almost dead eyes turned to her, and were for a second lit, ever so slightly, by the spark of recognition. She heard her name pass over the girls' lips in a whisper laced with the slightest bit surprise. Still, the girl made no effort to rise from the table, and Mari was about to start fidgeting when Seiji's voice cut the building tension.

"I think it will be good if you get to talk in peace. Mirai, show Kusakabe-san to your room. Your mother and I will take a walk after we clean off the table."

Mari studied the small girl as she rose with slow movements, as if she had aged seventy years since they had last seen each other. She stifled a gasp at the sight, shocked despite having worried about it. To see the shell of a girl dragging herself through life was an almost physically painful experience for the mc-courier. She wanted so badly to reach out to give support when the girl passed, but the presence of her parents stopped her. She told herself that it was just because she did not want them to feel like she intruded on their responsibilities.

As the two went down the hall, she heard the clinking of dishes being cleared away. She was grateful for the thoughtfulness of the father to have given them room. She needed to get her beloved girl to move through this phase of her grief.

_Beloved? Where did that come from?_ She shook the idea out of her head; it was not important now.

As she had been distracted by that thought, Mirai had opened the door to her room and led her inside. As the girl pulled out her desk chair over to her bed, Mari closed the door. With slow steps, unsure how to start now that she was here, she moved past her.

"You seem to have lost some weight," was the only thing she could think of saying. It was true; the girl was visibly thinner.

"You think so? I have eaten my meals though." The voice was soft, tinged with a melancholic tone.

The woman turned to the window. Her mind whirled with thoughts about how she would get through to the emotionally exhausted girl.

_God, she is so much like me after my husband died._

That gave her an idea.

"It's dazzling, isn't it?" _I need to prove to her that I can know what she is going through._

"On the other hand, it can also be oppressive." She felt her emotions from that time surge forward again, at the same time as words poured out of her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mirai raising her head, listening to her. As she began describing her own experiences, she forced her feelings back under control so that she would be able to finish it off on a lighter note. She told how she had found strength in her daughter, who had become her lifeline.

"She started to sneeze as my husband, too," she finished off. Turning around, she tried to give Mirai a positive thought to hold on to. "You and Yuuki are very much alike."

Mirai turned her head away. "Really?" she asked, her tone now one of melancholic amusement.

Mari made an agreeing sound, and turned to the desk. "Yuuki is inside you." She almost winced at the platitude, but the younger girl did not notice it. Feigning sudden remembrance, she got the girl's attention again.

_Time to move this up a notch._

She reached into the bag she carried and pulled out the backpack that Mirai had forgotten at the hospital. Finally there came some real feelings from the schoolgirl. Surprise and sadness was, however small, still a step up from emotionally detached. She once more reached into the bag, and what she pulled out this time managed to bring out shock.

"I thought I had thrown it away," Mirai said. This time her voice was trembling.

Mari took the comment in stride, quickly merging it with what she knew. "Yuuki picked it up and kept it with him."

She watched Mirai move and put the charger to the phone, before starting it. Several emotions played over the girl's face as she read her mails, going from surprise to relief. Then the woman was surprised to hear that there was a mail from herself. She moved closer and the surprise turned to shock as Mirai stated that it was from:

"Yuuki."

She was so puzzled after hearing that that she almost missed reading the mail.

She felt Mirai stiffen, and then utter her brother's name again, this time almost in a whimper. Now there was nothing stopping her, and Mari put a hand on a tense shoulder. The effect was immediate, and Mirai leaned into her.

The mail had been the last straw, and now all the emotions that the girl had kept bottled inside her came pouring out. As Mirai talked, Mari felt the pain from the girl ripping into her, clawing at her soul. It mixed with her own feelings, resonating and dragging her down in despair. And when the tears started pouring, they came out of two set of eyes.

It was not until over half an hour later that the tears finally subsided and were replaced by soft sobs. Mari had moved the crying girl to the bed, and was now laying back on it herself with the smaller girl on top of her, her head right under the woman's chin. Mari was slowly stroking Mirai's hair with her left hand, as her right was caressing her back. She felt the head under her hand moving, and looked down. Her gaze met now reddened eyes, eyes that were now filled with several things she had a hard time recognizing.

They were at least not empty now, but there was still sadness, and also desperation in them. Her eyes screamed for answers, but also for comfort and for something to ease the pain.

Mari could feel herself falling into those brown depths, steadily losing track of the world

She suddenly registered a warm pressure on her lips. The feeling penetrated her clouded mind, and she was startled to find that Mirai's lips were locked to hers in a kiss. The warmth from it swept over her, and she had trouble focusing her thoughts. She tried to protest, and opened her mouth. Unfortunately, her left hand did not cooperate with her, and neglected to pull the girl's head away from her. Mirai took it as an invitation, and deepened the kiss.

Mari did her best to pull away, but her mouth responded of its own violation. After days of feeling negative emotions, the kiss flooded over all her defenses. Her left hand, previously still from the conflicting orders it got, now tangled into hair, and tried to deepen the kiss even more.

Her right hand had become more insistent as well, and suddenly she felt bare skin instead of cloth. Mirai moaned, and put more heat into her kissing. The moan reverberated inside Mari, and she felt herself heating up. Her nipples hardened, poking through her shirt. Her jacket had opened at some point, and Mirai noticed the hard points against her chest.

Her hands, which so far had been holding on to Mari's shoulders, moved to investigate the curious presence. She fumbled around a bit, and accidentally swept her fingers over the woman's nipples. Now it was Mari's turn to moan, a deep sound that in turn made the girl even hotter.

Mirai's kiss became hungry, and instead of the almost playful wrestling from before, her tongue now fought for dominance. Her hands squeezed the woman's breast, drawing more moans. Then Mirai felt the hand on her back slip further down, into her shorts. A thrill went through her when it went down to grab her ass. She had forgone wearing panties, so the hand had no trouble getting access. The feel of nails softly digging into her skin heightened her pleasure.

Mari was a bit shocked when her hand slipped down; it was as if it had a mind of its own. Her thoughts of pulling it back up were derailed quite thoroughly, though, when she failed to encounter any panties. Her pussy clenched, and she could feel herself getting wet from the thought of it. She had to take a firm hold of the girl's right lower cheek to keep her hand from going further.

Mirai took it as a challenge, and her squeezing changed into a more purposeful groping. She tried to reciprocate the good feelings she felt, and as the breasts she was holding had worked before, she explored them. After a clumsy start, not at all helped by Mari's right hand making an extra strong clench when she first made a pass over the nipples, she began working them over. She made a mental note of the nipples for further study, and then moved on to the breasts themselves. She explored every inch of them, cataloguing each and every reaction she got.

Mari on the other hand, was close to writhing. Her breasts had always been a hotspot, a fact that her husband had made plenty of use of. It had been so long since then: she had been too busy with her work to have any time for romance, and casual sex just wasn't her thing.

_But isn't th__at what you are having now? _a part of her mind asked.

_Nothing I do to Mirai will ever be casual!_

She was surprised by the conviction in her statement. As the two continued to make out, she tried to make sense of things.

_If this is not just casual sex, it means that I have feelings for her. Do I? I __did feel close to her from the beginning..._

She gasped into Mirai's mouth when the girl made another pass over her nipples.

_I could feel her pain almost from the first time I saw her, and wanted to chase it away. Is that why I do it__, to ease her pain?_

She went on the offense, kneading the girl's butt and moving her left hand down to her neck, gently massaging it.

_No, that is not the reason. Not a big one at least. There would be other ways to do that. Am I in love with her__, then?_

Mirai had responded by taking her left hand down to Mari's waist and started tugging her shirt upwards.

_No, not yet. B__ut I already love her more than I have loved anyone, save my family. The only one that can compare now is Hina, and the love I have for her is completely different._

Mirai's hand slithered under her shirt, and sought out her breast. Her fingers trailed the edge of Mari's bra before she cupped her hand on top of it. The thin garment made almost no effort to lessen the sensations, and Mari's breathing quickened. Mirai lifted her hand to move it to a better position, and they both felt the cup move. Her bra's clasp was in the front, and had apparently come undone during the make-out. Mirai wasted no time, and her hand swept the cup the rest of the way away, and finally she was in contact with the breast, skin to skin.

Mari's mind made a last attempt to stop it, and doubt flooded her. Her hands started pulling away, and her tongue stopped its movement.

Mirai gave a pitiful whine when she felt the change, a sound full of primal need. The woman could not resist it, diving in with new fervor. None of the reasons she could think of to not do this could excuse the pain it would cause the girl. She would rather suffer in hell for eternity than make her beloved feel pain.

_Beloved? There is that word again. _

The thought was quickly lost in pleasure. The last doubt removed from her mind, Mari put her full attention to pleasuring the girl in her arms. Her left hand moved further down and then up under the girl's shirt, tracing the shoulder blades. She loved the feeling of them moving as the girl worked on her breasts.

Her right hand also moved further down, tracing the cleft down to the treasure between Mirai's legs. As soon as she reached it, she found it already wet. In fact, she was sure that it had to be soaking through the girl's shorts. Mirai stiffened at the touch, moaned and then increased her ministrations again. Her left hand traveled down, searching to reciprocate the woman's advances. It was difficult for her, first to move her hand down, and then to get under the skirt.

After almost getting stuck, she fumbled for the buckle on the front to release the belt. Mari had to slow her ministrations to let the girl lift herself up enough to reach it. Luckily it was a simple construction that only needed her to pull it outwards to get loose. With the belt gone, she could slip her hand inside the skirt.

She was too inexperienced and way too excited to do any degree of teasing. She put her hand down Mari's panties and only hesitated when she felt the soft hair that greeted her. She slowly dragged her fingers through it to savor the feeling, before her hand dove lower to the woman's entrance.

If Mari had been surprised by the wetness of Mirai, the girl was shocked by the amount of fluid that she encountered. It was only because of the woman's hair and her panties that she didn't stain her skirt. And even then, it would not be much longer before that happened.

Mari noticed that too. She took her left hand up through the neckline of Mirai's shirt to grasp her hair and pull her head back. The girl let out another whine, this time less needy as her pussy was still being stroked. Mari did not feel any worry this time, as she knew the girl would enjoy what would happen.

"Mirai."

The girl paid no heed to her, just continuing to try to reclaim the lips she had been pulled from. Mari gave her thigh a light pinch to bring her back to the real world, and as soon as the clouded look vanished from her eyes, she spoke again.

"Mirai. This will work much easier if we get out of our clothes."

She had never seen anyone undress so quickly. Mirai went up on her knees and ripped the shirt over her head. Then she pulled down her shorts to about mid-thigh before sitting down. In one smooth movement she brought her legs forward and pulled her shorts further off, ending with her legs in the air and her shorts flying to join her shirt. She then quickly took her legs down again to once more sit on her knees. Mari had laid still during the whole maneuver, which had only taken a few seconds. The young girl now stared at her with a hungry look.

Mari unbuttoned her skirt, and as soon as she was done, the girl grabbed its hemline and pulled down. The woman sat up and divested her jacket while Mirai pulled of her socks. While she worked on the second sock, Mari unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt and pulled it over her head, placing it on the floor with the other clothes. She then shrugged off her bra and let it join the shirt while she lay back again.

When she looked down, she saw that Mirai had started to take off her own socks. This did not suit her. "Leave them on."

Mirai looked up in surprise.

"I think it looks sexier with them on you."

The girl's desire for her older friend rose even more, and she fell forward and started crawling up the length of her body to resume their kissing. Mari was in no way opposed to this. While her greater experience made it easy for her to imagine the girl kissing a different set of lips, it also gave her the patience to take it slowly.

Mirai did not lay down immediately when she came face to face with Mari. Instead, she rested her elbows on the bed and tangled her hands in the woman's hair. Then she lowered her head, and they resumed their kissing. Even without direct contact they could feel the heat of the others' body, and occasionally Mari's nipples would touch the girl's chest, sending pleasant shivers through both of them.

Mari had again tangled her left hand in Mirai's hair, and her right hand traced the girl's spine. The small break had taken some of the heat out of them, and their kissing was slow. Both savored the feelings, and were in no hurry to take things further.

Of course, the heat rose anyway. Mirai arched her back, making her chest stimulate Mari's nipples constantly. She, in turn, moved her hand to the girl's butt as response. The kissing got more intense, their tongues dueling once more.

Mari decided to make use of the extra space created by the girl's kneeling position. She let go of her butt, and traced the girl's hip around to her stomach. Mirai shivered at the sensation, and then gave a moan when the hand continued down to her sweet spot. Again Mari encountered a great deal of wetness, and it took only about a minute of stimulation for her to feel droplets running down her wrist. Mirai gave a shiver and pulled her head back.

"No fair, I can't reach you when I lay like this," she panted out.

Mari gave a throaty chuckle. "It was you yourself that took that position. And I quite like having you there."

She didn't give the girl a chance to respond; instead she placed a finger on her clit. Mirai made a squeak, and her head fell down to rest on the woman's shoulder. Mari enjoyed the panting in her ear, and kept up her more forceful ministrations. The panting grew quicker, and several times when Mirai tried to speak she was interrupted by the woman's hand making her moan. Suddenly she tensed up and finally managed to speak.

"Mari!" she squeak-yelled out.

Her spine began arcing up, and then down in a snapping motion, repeating again and again. Mari felt her thighs and knees become doused in girl-come, even though Mirai came when she had her spine in its highest position. Her hand had caught some of it too, and her arm was soaked with the fluid. The girl gave a shuddering sigh and collapsed on top of the woman.

Mari continued slow strokes to bring the girl down gently, and her left hand now stroked her hair. Mirai's breaths slowed down and deepened as she relaxed again.

"Do you always come so easily?"

"Mmmm, sometimes," came the lazy response. "When I get really excited. But I have never come that hard before. I was seeing stars."

"And do you usually come as much?" Mari said, pulling her hand out from between them, leaving most of the fluids on the arm on their stomachs. She then let it rest on the bed besides her.

"Huh?" was the reply, and Mirai shifted a bit, Mari reacting by spreading her legs a bit so the girl's legs came down between them. Finally noting how far down her legs had became wet from the shifting, Mirai buried her face in the crook of the woman's neck, her face burning. "Well, I normally squirt a bit but I don't think I have ever reached that far."

Mari gave another chuckle, making the girl feel better. "It's okay. I don't squirt when I come, but I tend to be very very wet during the way there."

Mirai raised herself up on her hands and knees again, and stretched languidly. She bent down and gave the woman beneath her a peck on the lips. "I think I have to see that for myself."

Doubt once again started rising in Mari. "You don't have to if you if you don't feel like it."

The girl gave her another quick kiss. "But I want to." There was a flash of insecurity in her eyes. "I don't know how to pleasure another woman though."

All of Mari's doubt vanished as her heart went out to the girl. There was no mistaking the honest eagerness in those brown orbs, and she could not say no. She gently caressed Mirai's cheek.

"Don't worry, I will teach you," she said with a kind smile. The girl sat back on her calves and Mari spread her legs a bit more. "Do you know the parts and their names?"

Mirai blushed and shook her head. "I know the different parts from when I, ehh, touch myself, but I don't know the names."

"I will teach you that first, then. I will keep it simple for now." Mari placed her hands at her cunt, and spread her lips with one hand. "This is my outer and inner vaginal lips," she said while tracing them with her other hand. "They are a bit swollen now as I am aroused. Here," she put her index finger at her opening, "Is my vagina."

Mirai nodded, her eyes glued to the woman's wet center. Mari took her hand up and exposed her clit.

"This is my clitoris. It is the most sensitive part, and should be treated with care until you know exactly what you can do with it." She let go of the skin, and put her hands so her fingers were resting on her neatly trimmed and short cut triangle. "There are other things that you can do and touch, but I think this is enough for now. So you want to touch it?"

The girl a bit hesitantly reached out with her right hand and traced the woman's cunt-lips with her middle finger. She soon grew bolder and, moving herself back a bit to be able to bend closer, she started examining all parts. After spreading the lips open and tracing the inner lips, she made a stroke right up the now dripping center. She then lifted her now soaked finger to eyelevel. After twisting it to look at the liquid, she brought it to her nose and took sniff, finding the smell strong but not unpleasant. Mari's breath hitched when Mirai stuck the finger in her mouth. The girl closed her eyes, concentrating on the taste.

"Did you like it?"

"Mhhm," the girl nodded and dragged the finger out of her mouth, unconsciously making it a very sensual movement. "I think so. It isn't bad."

"They say that it is an acquired taste, might take a while to get used to."

"Do you like it?"

Mari nodded. "Yes. I haven't tasted another girl since my college days, when I and my roommate fooled around. She loved when I ate her, and I loved doing it."

"Ate her?" Mirai asked curiously.

The woman flushed slightly when she realized what she had said. She wasn't embarrassed for the fact; she felt no reason to be ashamed for her sexuality. But to tell the still quite innocent girl about it was strange, both dirty and thrilling.

"It means I used my mouth on her pussy to give her an orgasm."

"Did she do it to you too?"

"Oh yes, she loved doing it too."

She was so caught up in remembering it that she missed the girl's speculative gaze.

"And you liked when she did it?"

"Yes, I liked it very much, it is in some ways more intim," she cut her self off when she felt a hand rest on her thigh, and looked down. Mirai had put her hand there as she bent forward, her head closing in on Mari's cunt.

"Mirai, you don't need to, ohhh," she threw her head back as the girl's tongue reached her lower lips. Her hands had instinctually flown to the head between her legs, and she tangled her fingers in the black hair.

Mirai started out slowly, focusing on exploring the woman's pussy. Just as she had done with her breasts before, she paid attention to the reactions she got as she worked.

Mari was enjoying the treatment she got. Oh, Mirai was a first timer, that was clear, but she was attentive and talented. And the thrill of having her doing it made up for most shortcomings in the technique.

Mirai was finding the whole act a bit awkward. The smell was strong, on the verge of being overpowering even if it wasn't unpleasant. The angle she was working at, thanks to her still being on her knees, was harsh on her neck. She shifted around, placing herself on her stomach instead.

The new position was kinder to her neck, and she refocused on the older woman and what pleased her. She didn't follow a pattern; instead, she moved her mouth randomly. She knew from her own explorations that focusing on one spot could be counterproductive, and what would be pleasurable changed from moment to moment.

She paid a lot of attention to where Mari's hands wanted her head to move, whether the woman knew it or not. It was fascinating for her how good it felt to be able to give such pleasure; every moan and the occasional squeal would send shivers through her own body.

Mari, on the other hand, was lost in the sensations. It had been so long since she was pleasured by another, and the times she had masturbated had not come close. She could feel her orgasm building, and her juices really started flowing.

Mirai was momentarily taken back when the woman's pussy started gushing, but she recovered quickly and made sure to lap up as much of the fluid she could without disturbing her exploration. The taste had changed subtly, becoming richer and more pleasing. It was as if the older woman's body wanted to reward her for her work.

"God, you're such a good little cunt-licker." Mari was too far gone to care about her language. She had quite the potty mouth when she got excited, and now was no difference.

The young girl currently between her legs was taken totally by surprise though, letting out an embarrassed and muffled "Mou." It was all the protest she got out, as her mouth was currently busy with a totally different form of oral exercise. But by coincidence she had just taken the woman's clit into her mouth, and the vibrations transferred perfectly to the swollen nub.

"Oh god, fuck, FUCK!" Mari's hands involuntarily tightened their grip on the small girl's hair. Without care, she drew her head harshly against her spasming pussy, the girl's protests against the rough treatment only heightening the pleasure. "SHIT, fuck, ohhhhhhh."

Mirai had stopped protesting as soon as she realized that woman was having an orgasm. Instead, she contentedly drank the flowing juices. She had just let them fill up her mouth when she suddenly felt the hands leave her head and Mari shifting down to grab her by her shoulders. She didn't have time to react before she was dragged up and kissed roughly.

A tongue forced her lips apart and she felt the fluid in her mouth spilling into the one below her. Feeling possessive about her prize, she fought to keep as much of it as possible, dueling the woman's tongue in the process. Unfortunately, gravity worked against her, and no matter how hard she tried she was incapable of stopping the flow. She finally resorted to swallowing what she still had left. She didn't give up her other struggle though; instead she intensified her efforts to match her lover's ever moving tongue.

The kiss slowly got less heated, growing languid and loving instead. After a while they broke the kiss and looked into each other's eyes. No words were spoken, and none were needed to convey the feelings of the new lovers. Soon, both girls relaxed in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Mari wrapped her arms around the younger girl, who in turn snuggled down into her. Content, both drifted off to sleep, both finally whole again. Whole, together.


End file.
